The fact that surplus colostrum is often not used on dairy farms is a missed opportunity for several reasons, says Mathieu Woltring (right in photo) of Vitomega. Not only from a sustainability point of view, but it also produces a nice by-catch that is more than three times higher than the milk price. Together with his partner Matthijs Driessen, Woltring took over the company at the beginning of this year and they think they can grow considerably, even in a shrinking dairy sector.
Vitomega, based in Deurne, has been active for many years in collecting and processing colostrum into colostrum powder. This is used again in, among other things young animal feed for lambs and calves, pet food, but also for human nutritional supplements. However, it is an underexposed branch in the dairy sector, partly because of the small volumes involved. Many dairy farmers are also often unaware that there is a market for surplus colostrum. And that offers growth opportunities, the new owners of the company think.
So excess colostrum is too good and deserves to be collected?
"Yes, absolutely, because otherwise high-quality ingredients are lost. Especially in current times, this is a missed opportunity for a better sector image. The first milk supply from the calved cow is intended for the newborn calf, so that it can get off to a good start. The However, most cows produce much more colostrum after calving than the calf needs. The majority of Dutch dairy farmers are not yet familiar with companies like Vitomega that collect excess colostrum, so we see a large unused potential volume in the market We collect colostrum from more than eight hundred dairy farmers and want to grow to a thousand this year. In the meantime, the dairy farmer stores the colostrum in specially designed buckets supplied by Vitomega , in a freezer."
Preventing waste sounds noble, but without a financial incentive, entrepreneurs often do not take action. What does colostrum actually produce?
"Depending on the measured Brix value in the colostrum, we pay a compensation of €1,25 to €1,75 per kilo. With an average Brix value of 22, the compensation is €1,65 per kilo. That is three to more than four times the current milk price. On average, a dairy farmer supplies us with about 200 kilos of colostrum every year. Given the limited volume, you are talking about a nice by-catch for the dairy farmer, but we also feed back the information from the company-specific measurements. we do. A dairy farmer can read the quality of the colostrum and also whether antibiotics are found. This can then be used to control the production of cows. For example, our service is a unique opportunity to reduce product losses dairy farm to a minimum. This is what inspires many of our suppliers to supply colostrum to us. Nowadays, this is increasingly a must. We have therefore recently become part of their Dairy Academy. This means that we educate A-ware suppliers in good colostrum management and also actively approach them to supply the surplus colostrum to us."
Generating sufficient supply volume sounds like the big challenge…
"It is, without a doubt. In terms of cost price, it can only work for us if we can drive efficient collection routes. If the distances between the companies are too great, it does not count. That is why it is important for us to have as many dairy farms as possible as suppliers. We are currently mainly active in the south and center of the country. We also have a vacancy for an account manager in the Northern Netherlands with the aim of collecting more colostrum in Overijssel, Friesland and Groningen. which is also active in Belgium, makes the collaboration extra interesting given that our ambitions also extend beyond the Netherlands."
The colostrum is processed into colostrum powder, which you also call up-cycling. How does this process work?
"At the moment, the drying and mixing is still done by external parties, the drying is done abroad. As the new owners, we have the ambition to eventually do this in-house and are developing plans for this. We have recently received provisional approval from the regulator COKZ. In short, it means that we convert the colostrum into colostrum powder. The end product is in powder form or capsules."
And what are the applications?
"These are very diverse, from nutritional supplements to animal feed and increasingly pet food. About three-quarters of production is intended for human food. Currently, 80% is sold in Europe and the rest is for the world market with countries such as South Africa. Korea, Taiwan or Vietnam. Yes, then you are talking about completely different destinations than the excess colostrum ending up in the gutter."
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